Siege of Valencia (1092)

The siege of Valencia took place from 1092 to May 1094 when the Castilian noble Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar (better known by his Arabic nickname "El Cid") and his combined Christian-Moorish army laid siege to the city of Valencia on the eastern coast of Spain. El Cid's army was able to take the city after a two-year siege, and Valencia became an independent domain ruled by El Cid and his wife Ximena.

Background
The Moorish Muslim Taifa of Valencia ruled over the area surrounding the city of Valencia on the eastern shore of Spain, one of the many independent Moorish city-states. Led by emir al-Kadir, Valencia was supposed to be the landing site for emir Ibn Yusuf's armada of North African Moorish warriors, and it was a key city. In 1092, Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar - a noble from Castile better known as "El Cid" - decided to lay siege to the Muslim city and prevent Ibn Yusuf's arrival. King Alfonso VI of Castile ordered him to meet him at Sagrajas to fight against the Moors, but El Cid decided to disobey Alfonso and lead his renegade army of both Christians and Moors to besiege Valencia. On his side was an array of Moorish emirs that were grateful for his mercy and kindness towards the Moors, including Emir al-Mu'tamin of Zaragoza.

Encirclement
The besiegers constructed siege works on the beach not too far from the castle walls, and the Almoravids in the fort stood by, obeying Ibn Yusuf's orders to hold the walls until his arrival. El Cid and al-Mu'tamin decided to wait outside of the city and starve the defenders to death, as the city's fall did not require any blood to be shed. Valencia was besieged by El Cid's army for months, but King Alfonso's defeat at the Battle of Sagrajas led to Alfonso blaming El Cid's absence for this loss and the subsequent arrest of his wife Ximena and their twin daughters. El Cid was ordered back to Burgos, and El Cid nearly lifted the siege and returned to Burgos, had it not been the arrival of Garcia Ordonez with a freed Ximena (whom he helped in escaping) and fresh troops. El Cid patched up relations with his former rival, and he was much in need of his sort of soldiers.

Assault
Throughout the months of the siege, several people in Valencia came over to the besiegers' side, and El Cid eventually decided to attack at night with Count Ordonez and his other allies. El Cid rode in front of his army and called out to the people and soldiers in the castle, saying that he had starved them, but that he did not want to fight them. He asked them to rise up against their leaders and fight Ibn Yusuf, and he told them that he would bring them freedom. El Cid then used a clever tactic of ordering his catapults to shoot bread into the starved city, causing panic and desertions to his side. al-Kadir ordered his cavalry to massacre the rioting people and the deserting soldiers, but the rebellious populace rose up, dragging soldiers down from their horses and attacking them. The horsemen that managed to sortie out of the castle were felled by El Cid's archers, and the Moors took heavy losses. Eventually, emir al-Kadir was cornered on the walls by his people, and al-Kadir was quite literally "overthrown", being thrown to his death from the ramparts. The Castilians entered the city, victorious.

Aftermath
El Cid was offered the crown of Valencia by his soldiers after taking the city, with al-Mu'tamin saying that his men had given everything for him, and that he deserved the crown. However, El Cid was a noble subject of a non-noble ruler, and he proclaimed that the crown belonged to King Alfonso. He had the crown sent to Alfonso as a display of loyalty, and he asked for Alfonso's help in fighting against Ibn Yusuf. Countess Urraca of Zamora angrily had the messenger sent out, as she hated El Cid, but a regretful Alfonso shouted "yes" to helping El Cid to the messenger before he left. Valencia would remain a part of El Cid's domain until 1103, after his death.